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The Rowe Family Charitable Trust at a glance

· Private foundation

The Rowe Family Charitable Trust

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$106k
Granted FY2025still arriving
15
Grants FY2025still arriving
7
States reached
$15k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Philanthropy$112kEducation$102kHuman Services$51kEnvironment$30kArts & Culture$30kCrime & Legal$20kFood & Nutrition$16kPublic Safety & Disaster$10kOther$0
02FY2025 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k10 grants · $46k
  • $10k–50k5 grants · $60k
$5,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$1.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$15,000
EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE$15,000
WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN$10,000
EAGLE VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$10,000
BALLETROX$10,000
CENTRE STREET FOOD PANTRY$6,000
NPR$5,000
NEWTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS$5,000
CONCORD NH PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR JANE COGSWELL SCHOLARSHIP FUND$5,000
EAGLE VALLEY LAND TRUST$5,000
WBUR$5,000
PBS FOUNDATION$5,000
WORLD WILDLIFE FUND$5,000
WGBH$4,000
ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS$1,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY20–24, $51k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%CRADLES TO CRAYONS: $1k → 8%MARGARET FULLER NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $10k → 8%MARGARET FULLER NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $10k → 8%MARGARET FULLER NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $10k → 8%MARGARET FULLER NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $10k → 8%MARGARET FULLER NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $10k → 8%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

VT
NH
MA
OR
CO
VA
DC
AL
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$273k · 12 repeat orgs$40k to everyone else

12 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
3

Total granted

$273k
$5k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+9%
+141%

Still filing today

75%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 57% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $35k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesEducationEnvironmentFood & NutritionArts & CulturePhilanthropyOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • MF
    MARGARET FULLER NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE
    5× · 2020–2024 · $50k · revenue +40%
  • EI
    EDVESTORS INC
    4× · 2020–2023 · $33k · revenue +62%
  • EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE
    2× · 2023–2025 · $20k · revenue +9%

Funded once

  • TK
    THE KELLY S BRUSH FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2023 · $3k · revenue -23%
  • CT
    CRADLES TO CRAYONS INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $1k · revenue +141%
  • PP
    PROJECT PLACES
    one grant, 2021 · $1k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Greater Boston Food Bank Inc

Our costs consist of acquiring, sorting and distributing food to 617 member agencies, transportation and logistics, and community outreach to 69 direct distribution sites such as gbfb mobile markets, and federal distributions for low…

—
2
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
3
Food Forward Inc

Food forward fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people experiencing food insecurity, and inspiring others to do the same.

Food & Nutrition
4
Boston Foundation Inc

As Greater Boston's community foundation, the Boston Foundation devotes its resources to expanding opportunities, improving lives and strengthening communities. See Schedule OThe Foundation fulfills this mission in three principal ways:…

Philanthropy
5
United Food Bank

United Food Bank unites communities to alleviate hunger.

Food & Nutrition
6
Spoonfuls

Spoonfuls is an organization that facilitates the recovery and distribution of healthy, perishable food that would otherwise be discarded. spoonfuls works efficiently to deliver this food directly to the community organizations and…

Food & Nutrition
7
Extrafood

Food Rescue - The Organization rescues excess fresh food from Bay Area businesses, schools and non-profits and immediately delivers the food to safety net partners - such as senior housing centers, after-school programs, and homeless…

Food & Nutrition
8
Food Link Inc

Food link is working to create a more equitable food system throughout greater boston by rescuing and distributing high-quality, customized food to under-resourced communities and by advocating for systems change.

Food & Nutrition
9
Montana Food Bank Network Inc

Our mission: to end hunger in montana through food acquisition and distribution, education, and advocacy. we are the only statewide hunger organization, providing emergency food and increasing food access among needy children, seniors and…

Food & Nutrition
10
Vermont Foodbank

To gather and share quality food and nurture partnerships so that no one in vermont will go hungry.

Food & Nutrition
11
Boston Public Library Fund Inc

The boston public library fund provides financial support to the boston public library (bpl), ensuring that it remains viable, engaging, accessible, and free to all. the library fund fulfills this mission by working in partnership with…

Education
12
Eastern Market Corporation

Eastern market is organized to combat community deterioration and to lessen the burdens of government in managing its public market that has served detroit since 1891. eastern market operates the market under an agreement with the city of…

Food & Nutrition
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House; the most unlike its peers is World Wildlife Fund Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

18 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 18 of the 24 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/18
Grantees still filing
10/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $52,400 · PhilanthropyTHE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONUNITED WAY OF EAGLE RIVER VALLEY: $50,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF EAGLE RIVER VALLEYEAGLE VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10,000 · PhilanthropyEAGLE VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONNEWTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $25,000 · OtherNEWTON PUBLIC SCHOOLSGRESHAM BARLOW EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $20,000 · OtherGRESHAM BARLOW EDUCATIONAL FOUN…BALLETROX INC: $15,000 · OtherBALLETROX INCCONCORD NH PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR JANE COGSWELL SCHOLARSHIP FUND: $10,000 · OtherCONCORD NH PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR J…NPR: $5,000 · OtherTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $5,000 · OtherWGBH: $4,000 · OtherWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $10,000 · OtherWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INCPBS FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Other+3 more: $4,500 · OtherMARGARET FULLER NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $50,000 · Human ServicesMARGARET FULLER…+1 more: $1,000 · Human ServicesEDVESTORS INC: $32,500 · EducationEDVESTORS IN…RAR-MA INC: $9,000 · EducationRAR-MA INCWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $25,000 · EnvironmentWORLD WIL…EAGLE VALLEY LAND TRUST: $5,000 · EnvironmentEAGLE VAL…EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $20,000 · Civil RightsCENTRE STREET FOOD PANTRY INC: $10,500 · Food & NutritionNEWTON FOOD PANTRY INC: $5,500 · Food & Nutrition
Philanthropy$112,400Other$103,500Human Services$51,000Education$41,500Environment$30,000Civil Rights$20,000Food & Nutrition$16,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTHE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $52,400 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF EAGLE RIVER VALLEY: $50,000 over 5y, 3.8% of budgetMARGARET FULLER NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $50,000 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetEDVESTORS INC: $32,500 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBALLETROX INC: $15,000 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetCENTRE STREET FOOD PANTRY INC: $10,500 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetEAGLE VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetRAR-MA INC: $9,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetNEWTON FOOD PANTRY INC: $5,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetPBS FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE KELLY S BRUSH FOUNDATION INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCRADLES TO CRAYONS INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetROCKY MOUNTAIN PUBLIC MEDIA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Eastern Bank Foundati…Boston Foundation IncCambridge Savings Cha…Rockland Trust Charit…Combined Jewish Phila…American Endowment Fo…National Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Eastern Bank FoundationMA17.2× affinity6 shared granteesties to 10 of 10Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Eastern Bank Foundation · Boston Foundation Inc · Cambridge Savings Charitable Foundation Inc · Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation Inc · Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc · American Endowment Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization The Rowe Family Charitable Trust funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Rowe Family Charitable Trust. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Balletrox Inc: 15% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
  • Cradles to Crayons Inc: 2% of income from government
  • The Oregon Community Foundation: 2% of income from government
  • Edvestors Inc: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Rowe Family Charitable Trust?

Find your warmest path to The Rowe Family Charitable Trust through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 24 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Rowe Family’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home